"We're all going to pass, but I'm not giving up," Garcia said. "People shouldn't give up the fight. There's a lot to look forward to."

She looks forward to becoming a grandmother at the end of April.

She has cancer of the body, not of the spirit.

"I'm a little young to be a grandmother, but I welcome it," Garcia said. "I welcome being 60, 70, 80 and 90."

But when Garcia talks about a Christian retreat she wants to attend in January, she speaks with uncertainty - adding, "If I make it..."

San Miguel said, "Sometimes she puts on that she's stronger than what she is."

On her good days, there's laughter and smiles. On bad days, it's emotional, stressful and filled with fear.

San Miguel doubts she would be as strong - "I don't cry around her."

San Miguel said she is lucky to work for Alcoa, a company that extends medical benefits to same-sex couples.

"God does miracles sometimes, and this is one of them," she said. Garcia "was in remission, and I pushed for it at work. I dug for it because I knew it (insurance) was available."

At the beginning of 2012, before Garcia's cancer came back, she was able to get on San Miguel's insurance policy.

However, they're both paying off expensive bills from the old cancer.

They are hosting an all-day benefit Jan. 13 at Club Westerner to raise money to help with bills. The benefit includes a motorcycle fun run, a raffle for a Yamaha motorcycle, a barbecue luncheon and an auction.

Each chemotherapy treatment cost from $13,000 to $15,000, San Miguel said. To date, Garcia has received 26 treatments, but even with insurance they're left covering 20 percent of all expenses.

"I really don't want to do chemo, but I have to," Garcia said. "It's the only way I can stay alive."